WFW - Confirmation Bias

By now, authors and publishers of sociology and psychology textbooks are bidding on the rights to that image from this weekend in Washington D.C.  with the group of boys from the Catholic high school and the Native American man drumming.  This is an ideal illustration of confirmation bias.  The image provokes strong reactions, that vary widely, and which are set deeply almost immediately. 

As video was made available that provided a context to the original image, it offered an opportunity for people to reconsider their original impression of the picture.  In the interest of full disclosure, this had a profound effect on my impression.  For many people, the impression they got from the first impression was set so deeply that the only effect of seeing the contextual video was to validate that first impression.  The presence of ‘MAGA’ hats on the heads of many of these boys, and the fact that they were in Washington to promote laws that would be more restrictive on did much to promote a division among those viewing the video.  An individual’s feelings about Donald Trump, or abortion rights could create a strong bias for or against these boys. 

The contextual video revealed the presence of a third group involved that were not seen in the original image.  A group called the Black Hebrew Israelites had been in a taunting confrontation with the boys from the Catholic school – and it appeared that the Native American group had placed themselves between these two groups.  Again, this move was subject to interpretation; was it intended as a peaceful intervention, or a heavy-handed assertion of power?  This then returns the viewer to the original image of the drummer, and the Catholic school kids.  Were they chanting along with the Native Americans in a respectful way, or making fun of them.  As the drummer and the young man in the center of the original image came close together, and each stood their ground, was this a case of intimidation, or a more innocent proximity … and if intimidation, who was initiating it? 

The reactions I read on social media were all over the map on interpretation of the body language, both in the original image, and in the surrounding context.  How do we interpret the young man’s facial expression?  Was it a smirk, or a more innocent neutral expression?  Can we know from outside?  What factors influenced his response, as well as the response of the Native American drummer?  Did each expect the other to back up?  Is there any reason either should have expected that of the other?